Lu Pillar: Communicate Clearly
Read time: 3 to 4 minutes
IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING
Before work starts, make the outcome, standard of work and decision boundaries clear.
What feels obvious to you may only feel obvious because you already know the context. Providing clearer brief gives people a better chance of getting the work right the first time and gives you more time to focus on work that needs your attention.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
When you hand work over, you already know why it matters, who will use it and what a good result looks like. The person receiving it may not. If that information stays in your head, they have to fill in the gaps themselves.
Sometimes they will ask. Sometimes they will make a reasonable assumption and get started. If their assumption is different from yours, the work can come back “wrong” even though the problem started before they began.
WHAT IT CAN LOOK LIKE
“Can you have a look at this and let me know your thoughts?”
A technically good piece of work misses the point.
Something that should need one revision is on its third.
Work sits waiting because nobody knows who can make the next decision.
Two people start doing versions of the same thing.
Everything is described as a priority.
You keep hearing, “I thought you meant…”
WHAT IT COSTS
You spend precious time correcting work that may have been avoidable with a clearer brief when you handed the work over. Over time, your team can become less willing to make decisions for themselves if they learn that the expectation becomes clear only after they act.
You don't just lose time to rework. You are unintentionally training people to keep coming back to you for decisions they should be able to make themselves.
WHAT THIS ENABLES
Taking a few extra minutes to make the work clear up front can reduce avoidable revisions and back and forth. It helps people understand not just what they are doing, but what they can own. That means:
Fewer avoidable revisions and false starts.
Less time spent answering questions that could have been covered at the beginning.
Employees can make more decisions without waiting for approval.
Problems and competing priorities are more likely to be raised before the work is finished.
Handovers between people and teams becomes easier.
You spend less time repairing work and more time on the decisions that need your input.
Clarity means making it clear what good looks like and giving people enough context to use their judgement without checking every step with you.
USE THESE WORDS
Before someone starts a meaningful piece of work, put these five things in writing (in an email, message or wherever the work is tracked) so everyone has the same information to come back to.
“Here's what I need:
Purpose: This is for [decision/outcome].
Audience: It will be used by [person/group].
Standard: A good result looks like [standard or previous example].
Your call: You can decide [X] without checking with me. Come back to me for [Y].
Timing: I need it by [date], because [reason].”
You don’t need a new template or process. You just need one clear reference point for what was agreed.
TRY IT THIS WEEK
Use the five-part brief on the next meaningful piece of work you delegate. Put it in writing (in an email, message or wherever the work is tracked) so everyone has one clear reference point for what was agreed.
CHECK IN TWO WEEKS
Look at the work that came back for changes and ask: Did the work need changing because it was wrong, or because the brief wasn’t clear?
Track the unclear briefs. That is the rework you can reduce.
WHEN THIS GUIDE ISN'T ENOUGH
If unclear work is happening across the whole team, the problem may be bigger than individual delegation. Priorities may be changing too often, roles may be unclear, or different leaders may be giving competing direction.
A better brief cannot fix unclear priorities or systems. Take the issue to the level where those decisions can be made.
NEED MORE SUPPORT?
Lu offers two next-step options.
Run It gives teams practical tools to work through the issue themselves.
Embed It provides independent support to understand what is driving the problem, tailor the response and help new practices stick.
